Here's an assortment of recipes that caught my eye on the programme "Reza, Spice Prince Of India". REza is reza Muhammed, a very engaging and camp indian chef. He himself says the name of the programme is a bit pretentious as this was his first cooking trip to India. Reza as I said is very camp, he's what I'd call a rich British Indian; his parents are Indian, he went to an expensive private school I think in Britain but it was an indian school. He speaks like Prince Charles anyway.

These as I say are recipes that caught my attention. If you can catch his programme on TV watch it as most of the cooking is by local indian chefs, quite often Maharajahs' private chefs.

Method In a bowl put 100g of cashew nuts and add just enough warm water to soak them for two hours. Drain and place them in either a blender or food processor, adding again a little warm water. Blitz to a thick smooth paste. Set aside.

Using a large frying pan, dry-roast the garlic, ginger, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, red chillies, cloves and cinnamon over a low heat for five minutes.

Add the coconut, 75g of the cashew nuts plus the onions and roast for a further 10 minutes, stirring all the time.

Remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool in the pan.

Grind the mixture either in a blender or food processor with 150ml -250ml of water for a very smooth consistency.

Heat the oil in a wide cooking pot, add the blended spice mixture and fry for ten minutes over a low heat.

Add the ground cashew nut paste with some salt and fry for another two to three minutes.

Increase the heat to medium high, and add the chicken. Fry for five minutes, then add the remaining cashews.

Stir-fry for a minute or so, then add 600ml of water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the chicken is tender.

Method Boil the meat with salt and turmeric in only as much water that it should dry up when tender. If some liquid remains, drain and keep aside for later.

In a separate pan heat the mustard oil, when it begins to smoke add the clarified butter/ghee.

Fry the sliced onions to a golden brown, remove and set aside. This will take around 15 minutes and be sure to continue stirring them to get an even golden brown.

In the same oil add the whole dried chillies and fry until they blacken, remove the pan from the heat and discard the chillies.

Bring the same oil to the heat once again, and add the cloves and both the cardamoms and allow them to sizzle for a few seconds, then add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fennel, nigella, fenugreek and asafoetida.

Once the seeds crackle and pop, add the garlic and ginger stir-fry for one minute then add the cooked meat along with the red chilli powder, jaggery and two thirds of the fried onions.

Stir-fry for a few minutes, add some of the leftover meat liquid (if any) or water to keep it moist and break the meat up a little with the spoon.

Add the lime juice with two tablespoons of water and simmer over a low heat until the liquid dries up and only the ghee remains.

Serve with hot chapatis and garnish with the remaining fried onions, and chopped fresh coriander.

In a wide nonstick pan, large enough to take all the potatoes without overcrowding, heat the oil to a medium-high heat and add the potatoes.

Sauté the potatoes until they're beginning to brown on all sides. Add the turmeric, chilli powder and salt and stir fry thoroughly. Allow the spices and potatoes to finish cooking.

In a separate frying pan add one tablespoon of vegetable oil and crack the eggs into the pan. Fry sunny side up until the egg white has cooked completely. This will only take two to three minutes

In a separate small shallow frying pan heat the oil till it begins to smoke and add the panchporan (five spice). Allow the seeds to crackle and pop, then add the green chillies and the chopped coriander.

Stir for a few seconds and pour this onto the cooked potatoes, add lime juice and stir well.

Using a large heavy-bottomed pan, heat three tablespoons of the ghee/oil over a medium-high heat until hot. Add the cloves, green and black cardamom pods, bay leaves and approximately four of the soaked dried chillies. Once they begin to crackle and change colour add the onions along with the garlic-ginger paste. Continue to saute until the mixture turns a pale almond brown. Now add the meat and cook, stirring continuously over a high heat for approximately five minutes, then add the rest of the soaked dried chillies.

Continue to cook for a further ten minutes or so, or until all the liquid has evaporated and the meat starts to brown. Reduce the heat to medium, then add the yoghurt mixture. Cook for a further 15 minutes or until the yoghurt has dried up completely. Pour in the lamb stock/water along with the tomato puree.Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for approximately 30-40 minutes until tender.

Once the meat is done, remove from the heat and keep warm.

Using a small frying pan, heat up the ghee/oil until very hot, add the bulb red chillies, and as soon they change colour, pour onto the lamb.

Finally add the lemon juice and the chopped coriander and adjust seasoning.

A dollop of yoghurt 2 tbsp of ghee of clarified butter heated with 1 tsp red chilli powder and poured over the yoghurt Method Wash the lentils in warm water until the water runs clear. Soak in warm water for approximately an hour then drain.

Using a heavy bottomed saucepan, add the drained lentils along with 800ml of water. Bring to the boil and remove any scum that forms.

Now add the turmeric and the asafoetida. Cover and simmer until the lentils are almost cooked then add some salt. Allow the lentils to cook completely.

Using a separate wide frying pan, heat the ghee until hot, then add the asafoetida and the cumin seeds. Once they begin to splutter, which will take a couple of seconds, add the onions. Fry until the onions start to brown at the edges.

Now add the garlic, chillies and the ginger. Continue to fry, until the whole mixture turns golden brown.

Toss the onion mixture onto the lentils along with the garam masala.

Stir in the lime juice and the chopped coriander.

Serve in bowls with a small dollop of yoghurt drizzled over the chilli butterJohnny C` ' ` ' ` ' ` ' ` ' ` beaming live from an office shaped prison